Hoping to leave a mark

Sunday

Jul 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2007 at 2:44 AM

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about joining Mark Martin before leaving DEI

Jane Miller

Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing struck a deal earlier this week that will combine resources and create a four-car team. Earnhardt Jr. will leave DEI at the end of this season to join Hendrick Motorsports.

Before he leaves, Earnhardt Jr. is especially going to enjoy having Mark Martin for a teammate for a few months.

'It's something I can always say happened and I think we'll enjoy and get to know each other a little bit,' he said. 'I know that Mark will appreciate it too because he's that kind of guy. It's going to be fun working with him for the rest of the season and he can probably help me figure out what we need to do to get to Victory Lane and try to stay there.'

Earnhardt Jr. was firm in his stance he still would have left the team even if he had known the merger was coming.

'I didn't leave because we didn't have (the latest equipment). It didn't have anything to do with whether we were a three-, two- or four-car operation. There were things about the team that …in racing, you always have to progress. You can't never sit still and everybody at DEI knows that. … I don't think it's a bad move but it wouldn't have changed my opinion, I don't believe.'

Surprisingly, or maybe not, Earnhardt said he hasn't spoken to his stepmother/car owner Teresa Earnhardt since he announced his decision to leave the company, which speaks volumes about the real reason he is leaving.

DAMAGE CONTROL:

J.J. Yeley and Robby Gordon both crashed during the 3-hour, 15-minute practice at midday Saturday. Yeley lost control in Turn 4 and hit the SAFER barrier, then the car did a half spin and scraped the wall again.

'We were going to make an eight-lap run to see how our tire wear was and for whatever reason, it got loose on the exit of Turn 4,' Yeley said. 'It really caught me by surprise. I thought I had it saved for a minute, I just couldn't keep the car caught up.'

Yeley hit his elbow, but was otherwise unhurt.

Gordon pancaked the right side of the car with about 45 minutes left in the session.

'The whole day has been a lot of unexpected excitement,' Gordon said. 'We came here last year and had a shot at sitting on the pole …We came back this year and I just can't get into the corner. I don't know what it is.'

Both drivers went to backup cars.

MISSED KISS:

Andy Petree was the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt's 1995 Brickyard 400 win and believes he is the only winning crew chief never to have kissed the bricks at the end of the race.

'They didn't start doing that until the third year,' Petree said, 'and we won it the second year.'

Ray Evernham, who was the crew chief when Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race in 1994, also was crew chief for Gordon's 1998 win and was able to take part in the ceremony then.

CHANGES IN ATTITUDE:

Jimmie Johnson had a love-hate relationship with Indianapolis Motor Speedway until last year. He loved the track, but he hated how the team ran.

One year after winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, everything has changed.

'I have pulled into this facility the last five years nervous about what was going to happen,' Johnson said, 'and come back this time with a smile on my face feeling like we have a chance to win. Winning this race can make a driver's career – you win at this facility, you've done something very few men have ever done.'

THANKS, BOSS:

While most car owners might get upset if a driver injures himself in an extracurricular activity, as Carl Edwards did last week, Jack Roush isn't one of them.

Edwards, who dislocated his thumb a week ago while racing late models in Nebraska, called his boss after he found out he would be fine.

'I think his quote was, ‘It's good to see that it's only going to cause you pain and suffering, and no permanent damage,' ' Edwards said. 'He thought it was kind of humorous. He said, ‘If you're going to play, you've got to be tough.' '

Perhaps Roush was so calm because he had broken his thumb in a go-kart some years ago.

'(Roush) has been through more physical trauma than most people who are alive,' Edwards said. 'So he looks at all this stuff as minor.'